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As soon as the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced the "housing pension pilot program," it caused panic among many people, so much so that it published several articles on its official website, promising "not to add burden to the people."

Relevant departments in Shanghai also "refuted the rumor" that the housing pension payment method circulating on the Internet was fake. At least for now, this is a "false alarm."

In fact, what I am thinking about is another issue: urban housing really needs "elderly care", and the start of this "elderly care" also marks the maturity of the city.

During the last few days of my visiting scholar program in New York, I visited a friend's newly purchased house, right next to Columbia University. The house was very beautiful, and the security guard in the lobby was handsome in a white uniform, and he was said to be able to help the owner with many things.

It is said that this apartment building will celebrate its 100th birthday this year. By this calculation, it was built in the 1920s, just in time for the Great Depression in the United States. At that time, the real estate industry in New York must have been difficult.

Yesterday I saw people discussing the lifespan of Chinese housing. Some said 30 years, some said 50 years, while the property rights of housing are 70 years - these seem very short, and no one has imagined that it can last long?

It is a remarkable thing for a building to be over 100 years old. It has to go through many rounds of maintenance and renovation. Who will pay for it? I guess in the United States, it is mainly paid by the owners themselves.

More important than the renewal of buildings and equipment is the "renewal of people". Several generations will go through it in a hundred years, and many houses will change hands many times.

An organization similar to the owners' committee can always operate very smoothly and efficiently and decide most of the affairs of the building. This is "autonomy" in the true sense.

If a person wants to buy such a house, it is not enough to have money, but also to undergo an "interview" by the homeowners' committee and conform to the cultural tone of the community.

Before my friend bought the house, a businessman failed the interview, so my friend had the opportunity to move in. As the owner, she also had to promise that she could only live in the house herself and not rent it out for at least a few years.

I think this is "urbanity". A city is not reinforced concrete, but a gathering of people; it is not only various "spaces", but also includes the "art of time". A city with "old houses" everywhere, but safe, convenient and comfortable, can be considered a real "city".

Chinese cities are beginning to enter the “era of maintenance.” In the past, people did not seem to have “perseverance” when buying houses, either expecting them to appreciate in value and then be sold, or imagining making a fortune by demolishing them, as if the lifespan of a house was limited, while people could live forever.

The fact is the opposite. Human life is only a few decades, but houses can last forever. When the city finally became untouchable and the house-grabbing movement lost its motivation, "urbanization" finally began.

Of course, who pays for this money and how to manage this money are very important issues. The government does not have unlimited capacity to take care of every house.

It's not even just a question of money, it's a question of "people", and it ultimately comes down to this: how does a community decide its own things?